Forever Black
by Tyjet Ansatsu
Summary: When the cyborg Zeltrax reemrges, Dr. Oliver calls in some old friends to help himout. Some are willing, and some ain't. Zeltrax tests out his new army, and it all hits the fan. REVIEW!COMPLETE!
1. The Gathering

DISCLAIMER: alright, we've been through this about seven time s already, do you think I own anything yet? But, for the sake of not getting sued, i do not own anything but the OCs and the plot.

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A man stood in front of a computer, staring. This was impossible. How could a cybog rebuild himself AND his son? The cyborg in question's face appeared on the screen, making the man jump back in surprise. "Hello, Dr. Oliver." it said, its voice distorted from the rebuilding process. "Zeltrax.." Dr. Oliver hissed, noticing the gold colored copy in the back round. "And Goldenrod?" he said, a little on the shocked side. "I will destroy you this time, black ranger, along with anyone who gets in my way." With that, the screen went blank. Dr. Oliver fell heavily into his chair, massaging his temples. It was time to call in some old friends.

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In the pristine city of Angel Grove, the place where it all began, the international dancing star Zack Taylor was at his old huant, the juice bar. Upon entry, he spied Ernie, who had bought the place back and had began the process of putting it the way it was. "Hey Ernie!" he yelled as walked in. Ernie looked up and grinned. "Hey, kid, you got a call waiting." he said as he handed him the phone. At first Zack thought it was his agent, but no one knew he was here. Shrugging he took the phone. "Hello?" he said suavely. "Zack? Cut the crap, I have a job for you." a voice said. "Tommy?"

While Zack was getting his phone call from Tommy, half way across the world, in Seoul, South Korea, Adam Park was busily training in yet another branch of martial arts, with the help of the international soccer star Carlos Santiago. The pair had been sparring all day, and were soaked to the skin with sweat.** (A/N: I would like to remind all female readers to stop drooling at this point. Thank you.)** They were interuptted by Adam's grandmother handing him a phone. "Hello?" he said a little breathlessly. "Adam? This is Tommy. I need you and Carlos to meet me in Reefside as soon as possible." Adam nodded and hung up. He looked at his long time friend and ranger successor, and said: "We're going to Reefside."

Tommy hung up the phone and leaned back in his chair. This was a five man mission, and he only had four, including him self. A sudden thought struck him. What about..no, he couldn't morph anymore, and besides, he had no idea how to reach him. For all he knew he could be dead by now. Oh well, what did he have to lose? He grabbed the phone again, and dialed Kira's number. If anyone would know where to find him, she would.

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In a collge apartment, the phone rang, shattering the stillness and rousing the two occupants of the bed. A male hand shot out, and grabbed it off the cradle. "Hello?" he said in a bleary voice. "Trent?" a familiar voice said, a bit confused. Trent sat bolt upright. "D-dr. Oliver?" he asked shakily. "Is Kira there? And what are you doing at her apartment? Never mind, I don't want to know. Just Put Kira on." Tommy said with a sigh. He could guess what Trent was doing there, and that was something he did not want to imagine. Trent gently shook Kira awake, and wordlessly handed her the phone. "Kira, I know this is a sore subject for you, but I need to know where I can find..."

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Whilst Tommy was gathering the team together, somewhere in a rundown district of an unknown city, there was the typical activities going on: trying to stay alive. A door slid open silently, and out stepped a figure clad in black, a ninja hood covering his head so only his eyes were visible. At his waist hung a sword of disputable origin, but every one knew better than to ask about it. He had just had that dream again, about where to finbd a piece of his past. With a sigh, he mounted a motorcycle, and rode off into the night.

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Kira had just finished telling Dr. Oliver were to find that person, so he hung up. Once again, he leaned back in his chair, and began to type coordinates into a computer. The screen showed a swirling vortex, hovering over an active volcano somewhere in the pacific. He had hidden the gate to his world well. Only a fool who had nothing to lose would try to enter it. And by the readings, once you went in, you never came out. Tommy sighed, and began to type some more coordinates into the computer.

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The person in black pulled to a stop in front of an old building, where the black market contacts resided. Upon entry, he was asked to surrender his sword, which he politely refused to do. With a shrug, the guards let him through. He stopped in front of a whizzened old man with dull grey hair, who walked with a limp due to the hip problems he had. He looked up to see his best(and only)customer. "Ah, Shadow! I was wondering when I would be seeing you again." he wheezed, a sign of his bad habit of smoking for a long period of time. "What is it this time, Utsugi?" the one called Shadow asked, an edge of irritation in his voice. "I have the information you wanted.." Utsugi began.

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"Father, is it time yet?" Goldenrod asked his "father" Zeltrax. "Almost, my son." Zeltrax responded as the two put the finishing touches on a machine. Zeltrax entered it, and told Goldenrod to turn it on. His "son" complied, and the machine activated. As Zeltrax stepped out, so did multiple weaker copies of him. Zeltrax and Goldenrod only laughed as they all kneeled before them, swearing their alleigance.

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Shadow looked at Utsugi with a look of mild interest. "I'll check it out, Utsugi. If I find out you lied to me..well, use your imagination.." he said menacingly. As he stepped out, Utsugi pulled out a radio and activated it. "He's on his way, Dr. Oliver." Utsugi said he transformed into none other than Ethan James. Now all he had to do was get the hell out of here before Shadow got back.

As Shadow rode through the never ending night, he began to snese a familiar power up ahead. Looking up behind him, he noted the moon couldn't be seen tonight. That was a plus. His train of thought was interupted by a flash of yellow light up ahead. That was it. He stopped where he had seen the light, and began to dig. What he found made him groan. It was a black and yellow stone, with carvings of lightning and swords on its smooth surface. "Not again.." he whispered as he felt the powers within it flow into him. It was the Dreagon Crystal, a more powerful version of his previous two stones. "I see you found my present." a voice said. Shadow whipped around to see Dr. Oliver standing there. "I thought I told you never to come here again!" Shadow hissed as he drew his sword. Tommy rolled his eyes, and dodged the sword blow, only to get the wind knocked out of him by a left cross. "You fall for that every time." Shadow scoffed. Tommy climbed to his feet. "You still haven't answered my question yet." he stated. Shadow looked at him. "Whatever the hell you want, forget it. I got problems enough of my own. Don't belive me? I'll show you." he sneered as he flung Tommy onto the bike and roared back to the town. As he stowed his bike, Tommy looked around. It reminded him of one of the villages from the anime s-CRY-ed.

"You see? The only way for us to survive here is to steal from the next village over where every one is so rich they wouldn't notice if we jacked their entire food pantry. And sometimes that's what we have to do." Shadow said as he stood next to Tommy. "Shadow? Who's your friend?" a small voice asked. He looked down to see a small boy, dressed in rags. He knelt by the boy, and looked at DR. Olive. "This is my old science teacher, Ryuka." he said as he handed the boy something. "Go get that medicine for your mom." he said as he straightened back up. "You've changed." Tommy remarked. "Yeah, well, livin in this place for awhile does that to ya." he replied as he opened the door to a small house. "Are you comin in or what?" he asked. Tommy stepped inside, and noticed how the place was clean as a whistle. "So..." he began as the pair sat down at the Japanese style table. "The answer is still no. Although I;m glad you gave me the crstal, I want nothing to do with whatever mission you're planning. If this is anything like that 'Forever Red' mission you planned, you can definately forget it." Shadow said as he pulled his mask off, letting his flaming red hair fall, only to stand back up, defying gravity as usual. "Dave, look.." Tommy began, only to be cut off. "Dave is dead. I am Shadow now." he said as he opened a small portal. "You can leave now. I will think about your offer though." he said as Tommy walked into it.

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Tommy stared at his surroundings. He was right outside the cyber space. Walking inside, he was greeted by a massive bear hug from Zack. "Where you been, bro?" he said while giving Tommy the noogie from hell. Afetr breaking free, he looked at the three of them. "Trying to get the fifth man for the team. He refused." Tommy explained. Adam looked at him a bit quizcally. "Look, it's like this: while you were gone, I was in charge of the dino thunder team, and there was a second team called the dragon rnagers. I tried to get their black ranger to help us, but he's got his own problems to deal with." Tommy explained. Carlos rolled his eyes at this one. "Yeah, like we didn't. If it wasn't for the chance to be a ranger again, I wouldn't be here." he said as he leaned back on his chair. "Alright, I'll explain the mission once we get to my base of operations, alright?" Tommy said as he expertly tapped his foot to Carlos's chair, making him fall backwards with a crash.

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At Zeltrax's lab, he sat monitering the four black rangers, and the one who had refused to take part in this mission. The renegade Shadow. Yes, he knew of him, and his past involvement with the rangers. Back then he had always been the first to jump into a fight, and now he was running from one? Thta was good for him. One less ranger he had to destroy with his new army of clones. Soon, his plan to resurrect his master would begin, and there was nary a thing that could be done to stop it.

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So, what do you think? Good, Bad, what?

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	2. Back in Black, pt 1

DISCLAIMER: I OWN NOTHING BUT THE OCS AND THE PLOT.

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CHAPTER TWO: BACK IN BLACK, PT. 1

The group sat in Tommy's restored lab, going over the mission. "So, Zeltrax is planning something, but we don't know what. That's where my dino gem comes into play, since it allows me to become invisible." Tommy explained. "Yeah, but how do we find the place they're hiding at?" Adam asked. "Well I had planned on using the fifth member of the team, but sice he refused, we'll have to do this the old fashioned way. Carlos, do you still have access to the galaxy gliders?" Tommy asked. Caros nodded. "Good. Now, I know he's somewhere in this region, I just don't know where." he said as he passed out what looked like a metal detector. "Every one will have one of these. It tracks cybernetic activity, so we shouldn't have a problem finding him." Carlos nodded and called his glider to him.

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As Carlos flew over the Reefside area, back in the rundwon village, Shadow sat sharpening his sword. The opened, and in a flash, the blade of said sword was across the throat of whoever was trying to get in. "peace, nephew." a humorfull voice said. Shadow lowered the weapon and admitted his Uncle Chang into the house. "What do you want, Uncle?" he asked tiredly. "Why didn't you go with?" he asked, never being one to mince words. "If you knew what I did to feed our village, you would understand." he responded, getting ready to go to bed for the night. Chang sighed. Yes, he knew what he did, and he wasn't proud of it, but it kept the village going for a few more months. :Be at peace." he said as he stood. "Never." came the reply. Chang chuckled and closed the door.

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"Found anything yet?" Tommy said into the radio. "Yeah, but what..I can't tell." came the answer. "We're on our way." he said. The other two nodded, and followed Tommy to his jeep. "So, how do you know this Zeltrax guy?" Adam asked on the way there. "Before or after he became a cyborg?" Tommy asked while swerving around a curve, throwing the other two against the side of the jeep. "Before would be a good place to start." Zack said, rubbing his shoulder. While Tommy explained, Carlos flew slightly ahead and above them so he could hear this.

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At Zeltrax's lab, he had just finished making an army of clones of himself and Goldenrod. To put it mildly, it looked like a cosplay session on crystal meth. Yeah. That bad. The real Goldenrod sat behind a desk looking like a business man, talking to some one hidden in the shadows. "This should make the clones obey your every command," he said handing a vial to Goldenrod, "This should make them as strong as you," he said handing him another, "And this should gradually remove whatever small creature crawled up yer asses and died." the figure said with a look of disgust, handing him a final vial. Goldenrod grunted and threw a sizable amount of money on the table. The figure took it and left.

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"Wierd. He used to be called Smitty?" Adam said as they continued to drive along. "No wonder why he don't answer to that name." Zack said, fighting back gales of laughter. For some reason, he just found the name 'Smitty' to be hilairious. "Yeah, then we beat him and his boss, and the dino gems temporarily lost their powers." Tommy explained. The group stopped in front of the spot Carlos had indicated, and got out of the jeep. "You sure this is the spot?" Zack asked.

His question was answered by several of the clones popping out of the ground, slashing away at him. "DAMN!" he yelled as one cut open his vest. Tommy looked at the group, "We have to morph!" he yelled. They all nodded. "It's morphin time!" zack and Adam yelled. "Mastadon!" in a flash, Zack was back in his old uniform. "Frog!" Adam yelled, also being back in his old uniform. "Let's rocket!" carlos did the whole in space thing, and appeared in his black outfit. "Dinot thunder, power up!" Tommy shouted, transforming into the brachio ranger.

As they were about to attack, they heard music. By the sound of it, it was AC/DC. Tommy grinned when he relized what it was: it was the song 'Back in Black'. The four charged, and began trying to defeat the clones. Zack ducked a slash, and pulled out his blade blaster in blade mode, and began slashing in return. Adam seemed to be doing the same thing, with Carlos using his Lunar Lance, and was having some success keeping them away from him. Tommy, he was using his trusty Brachiostaff.

As they fought, the figure from before watched, and turned to leave when he heard a cry of pain. Stiffening, he spun to see Zack demorphed abd about to be killed. "Not on my watch.." he growled as he hit a button on his watch, transforming it into a small computer. Hitting a button, he said "Going Turbo." as he dashed among them, slashing away, leaving nothing but spare parts. All the rangers saw was a blur as he sped off.

"What the heck was that?" Adam panted as they powered down. "Looked like the phantom ranger." Carlos said. Tommy shook his head. "No, I think I know who it was. I think it's time we pay him a little visit." He said as they all climbed into his jeep.

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Back in the same rundown village, Shadow sat in his home, thinking of all the things he had done to help this village. And now that he thought about it, this wasn't his village to protect even. This was avillage where if you didn't steal, you died of starvation and hypothermia the next night. It was a harsh life, but the people here refused to leave. There was a knocking at the door, and right away, he knew they were strangers. Only those not from this land actually knocked.

As he hualed himself up, his senses flared to life. With an audible growl, he flung open the door, revealing the four black rangers. "What part of 'Don't ever come here again' did you not understand, Oliver?" he snarled, not at all pleased to see his old teacher. The four shuffled past him and sat in various places around the room. Shadow looked around, knowing that if he tried to escape, they would catch him. "What do you want?" he said with a sigh. "Why did you help us back there?" Zack asked. "Walk with me." he said as he stood and walked toward the dor. The group complied. As they walked through the village, they noted how everyone seemed to be the walking dead. "You'll find more cheer in a graveyard.." Adam muttered. The group stopped in front of a building, that by the looks of it, was on the verge of falling apart. "What is this." Carlos asked. "This? This is the orphanage. As you can see, the place might as well not even have walls." Shadow said as they watched the kids play. Tommy was beginning to understand what he had meant when he said life here changes a man.

"Those kids have no idea how good they have it in there." Shadow said as they continued to walk. "Why do you say that?" Zack asked. "Because at least in there, they have a roof over their heads, they get at least two meals a day, and they have loads of friends. Out here, you got no one but your onw self, and you gotta fight to survive." He said. "So why won't you help us." Carlos asked. Shadow stopped, and turned to him. "Because, I'm the one who gave Zeltrax the technology to make those clones." he said bowing his head. The group froze. "You did what?" Tommy asked horrified. "Afetr all you've just seen you still don't understand why I would do that, do you?" he asked softly. The group began to understand. He had to fix up the place before it got any colder, and they would need food and blankets. But to do that, he would money. And what was the best way to get cash? Sell illegal parts to no good people.

"Leave now." he said softly as he walked into the orphange. They had only gone a few yards, after all. The group heard Tommy. "Let's go. We have to find out how to beat those clones." he said, staring at Shaow's retreating back. He shook his head. Yeah, he knew why he did it, but that didn'tchange the fact that he had made their fight almost impossible.

Inside, Shadow watched them go, with a congregation of small children gathering around him. "Uncle Shadow!" they kept saying as they pranced around. He smiled. Yeah, he had done something bad, but seeing the kids so happy was worth it. "Hey, you guys ready for your lesson?" he asked. They all started yelling excitedly. If his sister Trini was alive, this was what she would be doing. The group went out back, where they all formed ranks. Shadow stood in front of them, and bowed. The kids bowed in return. This was what he loved: teaching kids martial arts.

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As the group left the wormhole, they saw how penisive Adam looked. "He said he ad his own problems to deal with?" he asked suddenly. Tommy nodded, thankful Hayley had installed a hover thing on his jeep, or this would be a real short trip. "Why doesn't he ask for help?" Adam asked. Tommy looked at him. He sumed up about an hour long answer into one word. "Pride." The others nodded in understanding.

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Meanwhile, at Zeltrax's lab, the cyborg in question was furious. "That abomination must die!" he roared. Turning to Golldenrod, he said "Take as many clones as you need, and go to the village he lives at, and kill him. We cannot afford his interference." Goldenrod nodded and left through an invisiportal. The pair had no idea the amount of hell that would release on them.

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	3. Back in Black, part 2

Disclaimer: I onw nothing but the OCs and the plot.

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Chapter three: Back in Black, part two

Behind the orphanage, Shadow was walking betweent the rows of kids, occaisonally correcting their stance or something. For the most of them being under ten, they were fast learners. "Alright, that's enough for today and-" he was cut off by an explosion. "Get down!" he yelled as he jumped to the top of the building. What he saw made his blood run cold. The vilage was burning, and the clones Zeltrax and Goldenrod had made were mindlessly killing the villagers, who were putting up one hell of a fight. There were screams behind him, and the sounds of bodies hitting the ground. He went pale as he turned, to see the children being butchered like cattle. "No.." he whispered as he leapt down, drawing his sword. The look in his eyes would've sent the real Zeltrax running. With a battle cry, he attacked.

Zeltrax sat watching the destruction on the screen, laughing at how the villagers tried to fight back. Even though they knew they had no chance, they still fought. Pathetic humans. Then he saw two people who were actually able to kill the clones: that meddlesome Shadow, and his uncle, Chang. "Goldenrod, return. Let the clones do their job now." he said over the radio thingy.

At the village, Shadow was currnetly engaged in a fierce battle with two differant clones. With an impressive display of acrobatics, he dashed around the lot of them, destroying them. As suddenly as it began, it was over. Looking around, he could see that there was no chance anyone else had survived. The place was in ruins, blood soaking the ground. Sheathing his sword, he flung off his over coat and mask, revealing his gi, and the runes and symbols of the grand arcanum the now covered his arms. His left eye had been gouged at some pint during the fight, and by the looks of things, he would have to cut it out the rest of the way before he died of the infection. Reaching into his boot, he pulled out a knife, and began digging what remained of his eye out, ignoring the pain.

"Shadow..." he heard a ragged voice say. It was Ryuka. "No..kid, c'mon, don't die on me here!" he whispered as he held the boy in his arms. "What..happened..?" he asked weakly, coughing up blood. Shadow hung his head. "I..don't know, kid." he said. It was to late; Ryuka was dead. A heavy hand fell on his shoulder, nearly breaking it. "You see what your decision has done?" he heard Chang say behind him. He stood and turned. Chang recoiled slightly at the sight of his eye. He wordlessly reached into his pocket, and pulled out a leather ey patch. Shadow took it, put it on, and turned to go. "Where are you going?" Chang demanded. "To fix this." Shadow said as he leapt into a worm hole. Chang smiled. The boy had found the path, like he knew he would. He began to disappear, like Ashlee did. He had guided him long enough, now it was time for him to find his own path and follow it to the end...

Shadow appeared in front of the other black rangers, scaring the hell out of them. "What happened to you?" Carlos exclaimed upon seeing his face. It was covered in blood and had a new scar. "That bastard Zeltrax massacred my village!" he exploded. After about five minutes of mindless raging, he stopped for a breather. "You gave him those clones, right?" Carlos asked. Shadow nodded. "Then you know thei weakness?" he asked. Again, Shadow nodded. "They hate loud noises, like explosions." he said as he finally calmed down. "But the best way to kill them is to cut off their heads." he explained as he sat down. "Do you know what he's planning?" "He wants to resurrect Mesogog. He still don't get it, do he?" Shadow said as he beagn cleaning the blood from his sword. Toomy stared. "Hold on. Where did that blood come from?" he asked. Adam looked at it as well. "From one of the clones." Shadow answered, not knowing where he was going with this. "That means that they have human parts." he said excitedly. Shadow looked a bit skeptical. "Well they are cyborgs, so they should." he stated, effectively diffusing the excitement.

Shadow looked around. "You know we're missing a ranger, right?" he asked. "Who?" "Danny. The wild force ranger." Tommy shook his head. "Couldn't make it. His wife Kendall is pregnant." he explained. The alarms went off, making Shadow jump slightly. He never did get used to that sound. A quick look at the moniter revealed the clones were busily digging for something out in the woods. Shadow looked at the others. "Time to go to work." he said with a sigh. "Shadow Storm Dragon, power UP!" he yelled doing the dino thunder hand motions. The others morphed as well. Shadow looked at his new suit, taking in its appearance. He was a black version of the original green ranger, with yellow stripes on his arms and legs that looked like slash marks. In his holster was his sword. With a small smile, he drew it and attacked the unsuspecting clones. The others watched as he attacked with abandon.

"So much for ranger ethics.." Zack muttered as he drew his blade blaster and fired. The others drew their weapons and began their attack as well. Shadow leapt backwards and formed some thing on his wrist. "You might wanna cover your ears." he said as he luanched it. The reason became apparent as the object exploded and massive sound waves rocked the area. It sounded like a bolt of thunder up in the mountains. The clones all ceased their attack and fell to the ground, writhing in pain. "Whatever that was, it worked." Carlos panted as he stowed his blaster. Shadow bent over and picked up a fragment of something. "Whatever was here, they have it." he said gratingly.

In Zeltrax's lab, he looked at what seemed to be a chunk of metal. Those fools thought he was trying to revive his master. He was glad he had let that slip to the idiot Shadow. Now they were blissfully unaware of their other plan. Yes..not even Goldenrod knew of it. That would ensure his victory..

At Tommy's lab, they sat around a table trying to figure out what the substance they had found was. "I still say it's iron." Carlos said as he looked at it under a micro scope. Shadow stood off to the side, racking his brains trying to figure this one out. By now he would have it, but something was bothering him. Why would he want a piece of metal? Was he gonna build a new body or soemthing?

His train of thought was interrupted by the beeping of his watch. Puzzled, he answered the communicator. "Holler at me." he said, ignoring the stares of the other rangers. "Get out of Reefisde." a voice said. Shadow looked confused at first, then angry. Before he could say anything, the connection was lost. Jst freaking great. Now there were people trying to make him leave. He spunaround and left. "Wha-?" Zack said. "There's something I have to take care of in Angel Grove. I'll be back soon." he said as he teleported away. "You think there's something he's not telling us?" Zack asked. The others nodded. The alarms went off again, this time at a constrution site. Morphing, they left.

As they arrived, The real Goldenrod stepped forward. "Where's the other one?" he sneered as he drew his sword. This time, instead of using clones, he was using triptoids and tyrannodrones. "Do we wanna know what those are?" Adam asked. "Think of em as putties or tengas." Zack said sagely as they began yet another battle, this one on a more level playing field. After five minutes, only Goldenrod was left. With a hiss swearing revenge, he leapt into an invisportal. Zack lifted yet another chunk of metal from the ground, and the group left to examine it, oblivious to the fact that they were being watched.

In Angel Grove, Shadow sat in front of a business man, who had started out as a drug dealer. "I need to know what this is, Kurugi." he said impatiently as the man in front of him lit an expensive hand rolled havana cigar. "No clue what that is, but it looks like junk." Kurugi said as he puffed the said cigar. "Yeah, every time you say that, it's really valuable." Shadow said with a roll of his eyes. "Alright! It's aspharine! It's used to make duplicates of something made of metal." he cried as Shadow prepared to throw the chair he was sitting in out the window. Shadow thanked him and left. Aspharine? What would Zeltrax want with aspharine?

At Tommy's lab, the four rangers sat around the table again, analyzing their newest find. "I have no clue what this is." Carlos said as he looked through the microscope. Tommy took a look at it, and was met with the same result. "There's gotta be some one who can tell us what this is!" Zack said as he paced a pathway in the floor.

In Zelrxa's lab, his plan was finally finished: the Zelzord was rebuilt, and stronger than ever. His first target? Reefside, California. If all went well, then he could kill the rangers and begin his own ruke over the planet. With an evil laugh, he slid the door shut and left, not even knowing he was being watched.

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	4. Redemption

Disclaimer: do you honestly THINK I own anything more than the OCs or the plot? If I did, I would be freakin rich, and this story would be an actual episode!

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Chapter four: Redemption.

As Zeltrax left his lab, Shadow emerged from a spot on the wall. He strode over to the console, and activated it. The image of the original Zelzord and several smaller ones appeared in 3D, kicking the crad out of the brachiozord. He snorted. That was the most unoriginal plans he had ever seen, and yet an oddly effective one. Obviously Zeltrax had studied the Forever Red mission as well. Hearing the sound of footsteps, he vanished back into the wall, not bothering to hide the fact that he had been there.

Shadow appeared in his lair, a place that few knew of. It was here that he would study the Grand Arcanum, and train his powers. It was also here he would speak to his friends in limbo. There was a slight scent on the air, judging by the odor, one of his old comrades. They were here long ago, and had left. He shrugged it off and walked over to a display case. Contained within it was a sword. Opening the glass, he pulled out the sword, and spoke it's name. "Sword of Ancient Kings.."

At Dr. Oliver's lab, they had reached the conclusion that he was building something. The only question was, what? "Okay, all we know is he needs this stuff to make something. Something big, most likely." Tommy said as he rubbed his jaw. "He's bringing back the Zelzord. Then he'll use it to destroy this building first." Shadow's voice came from all around them as the lights went off. "What's goin on?" Zack yelled as they all stood up. The lights came back on,with Shadow standing in the middle of the room. "I have told you what you are up against, so now it is up to you to stop him." he said he began to fade.

"Wierd." Zack said as they headed out to investigate. Upon reaching the area of the woods where they had fought the clones, the ground began to shake violently. Out from the ground rose the Zelzord, better than ever. "You guys thinkin what I'm thinkin?" Carlos asked. The others nodded and called their zords to them. "Brachoizord!" Tommy yelled, as the gigantic zord approached. "Mastadon!" Zack called. "Shogun zord!" Adam called. "Shuttle voyager!" Carlos yelled out, as all the forementioned zords appeared. Theuir respective rangers jumped in and began pilotting them as the Zelzored luanched the cloned zords.

Shadow stood on a hill, watching. He shook his head. No matter how many they destroyed, Zeltrax would only luanch more. "Guys, you have to put em together." he said over their comms. "Black Ranger megazord, activate!" they all yelled. Adam's shogun zord just stood there, while the mastadon formed the shoulder plates on it, as well as new arms. The legs on it disappeared, as it merged with the brachiozord, and finally, the shuttle voyager came down and acted a gigantic cannon. It was the only time this would ever happen, so they had to make it count.

On the hill, Shadow was vaguely aware that another being had landed behind him. "So you have shown them the way." it was his uncle. He nodded. "Just as Zeltrax's attack showed me." he said softly, watching as they destroyed all the clones with a massive wave of energy, disabling the Zelzord's reproduction ability. "What now, Shadow?" he asked. "Now, it is in their hands. Should it appear that they will fail, I will step in. But only untilthey are back up and ready to go." he said as he turned to walk away. "You know why Zeltrax attacked the village, right?" Chang asked, in a last-ditch effort to get Shadow into the fight. "No, I don't" he said as another Zelzord, pilotted by Goldenrod appeared. "To kill you." chang said as he vanuished.

"All that, just to get me?" he whispered, his anger growing with each passing second. He morphed, and called his zord to him. The other rangers were getting pounded by the two Zelzords, when a new zord grabbed Goldenrod's zord in a suplex and slammed it to the ground. It flashed a thumbs up to the black ranger zord, and commenced its own battle. "Who the heck is that?" Zack yelled from inside. "A friend." came his response. The two zords stood back to back and pulled out their swords. "I done had enough of you, Goldenrod!" Shadow yelled as he slashed at the forementioned cyborg, cutting off one his zord's arms. "Had enough?" he yelled as he did the same to the other arm and the legs, effectively destroying it. Goldenrod grow;ed, and leaped out.

Shadow followed, dismissing his zord and drawing his word. The two went at it fruiously, niether willing to give up. The othe zords were also going furiously. When it came to mobility, the black rangers were out matched, but more than made up for it with superior firepower and armor. As Zeltrax tried to beat them down, he was rewarded by a s back hand attack across the face of his zord. "How many times has Angela done that to you, bro?" Tommy asked Zack. "Many times." the mastadon ranger muttered. "Let's finish this!" Tommy yelled as they charged up their cannon blast again, destroying the zord as Zeltrax bailed out.

The four followed him as he landed next to Goldenrod. Shadow stood on the other side of the clearing, where the other four rangers landed next to him. "This is your fight now." he said as he teleported away. The rangers all took their stances and drew their weapons. The two sides stared at eachother for about five seconds, then all hell broke loose as they charged.

Shadow appeared in the ruins of his village and looked around. He bent over and scooped some ash and dirt into his hand, then teleported again, this time over looking the sea. He flung the ash into the waters, and watched as they were disentegrated. "May the spirits guide to you paradise, my people.." he whispered as he knelt and began to pray. He had much to atone for, and now was the best time to do it.

Back at the battle, it was growing tenser than ever. Zeltrax had called the triptoids to him, and was using them so he could repair himself and Goldenrod. As Goldenrod re-entered the battle, Adam and Zack converted their power axes to cannon mode and fired, destroying him. Zeltrax roared in anger, and attacked. With two slashes, he demorphed the two, and was about deliver the killing blows when Tommy intervened, leaving Carlos to deal with the triptoids.

Shadow lit a torch, and threw it into a pool of water, setting it ablaze. This was one of the most painful redemption ceremonies he could undergo, but it to be done. He had to redeem himself now, or he would never walk in the prescence, and would burn forever. Taking a deep breath, he fell into the water. His pain filled screams echoed across the still sea as he thrashed about, letting the fire cover him.

Tommy and Zeltrax were engaged in yet another of their classic battles, when Zeltrax stopped, and literally fell apart. "Power down." Tommy said. They all stood side by side, staring at the remains. "What happened?" Adam asked. Tommy shook his head. "It looks like he just ran out of juice." Zack said as he nudged one of the pieces with his foot. "It doesn't matter; we won." Carlos said. The other snodded and walked away.

Shadow climbed out of the pool, gasping in pain. He was mildly shocked to see his uncle sitting there. "You have redeemed yourself, nephew. Go now and find a new village to help." he said as he began to vanish. Shadow smiled and ripped away his mask. He needed it no longer, Shadow was dead; he was Dave once more. And this time, he would stay Dave.

* * *

And so the black ranger mission draws to a close..

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